BLINDED BY THE LIGHT REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

In a summer filled with sequels, spin-offs, live-action remakes and superhero films, it's refreshing to find a film as original as Blinded By The Light, a funny and heartfelt drama directed by Gurinder Chadha. 

Set in 1987, Blinded By The Light is a coming-of-age story about a teenager, Javed (Viveik Kalra), who learns to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the words and music of Bruce Springsteen. It is inspired by British journalist Sarfraz Manzoor's memoir, 'Greetings From Bury Park'.

Prior to watching Blinded By The Light at a secret preview screening last month, I was concerned that you had to be a fan of Springsteen's music in order to enjoy it. Fortunately, this wasn't the case and Blinded By The Light beat my expectations. When I first saw the trailers a few months ago, I thought that it looked cheesy and over-the-top. Whilst Blinded By The Light is funny and uplifting, it is also heartfelt and the story doesn't shy away from being serious. Because Javed is a British teenager whose parents are from Pakistan, he experiences racist comments from neighbours and children. These scenes are quite tough to watch as no one should have to experience prejudice and discrimination of any kind. This is what I appreciated most about Blinded By The Light as I was expecting it to be over-the-top and hard to take seriously. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

I think that a lot of us can relate to Javed who uses music as a form of escapism. We all have different musicians that we listen to on a daily basis and can make our days 10x better. For Javed, it's Springsteen. Whilst his music plays a big part in Blinded By The Light, those who, like me, aren't familiar with his music will still enjoy it. I can imagine Springsteen gaining new fans with the release of this film as many of his hit songs feature throughout. One of the most memorable scene sees Javed singing 'Thunder Road' to a girl he has a crush on, Eliza (Nell Williams), in the middle of the market. This could've been an awkward scene if it wasn't for Chadha's direction. Other people soon join in with Javed and the scene turns into a musical sequence, complete with choreography. 

Chadha is best known for directing Bend It Like Beckham, which was released almost twenty years ago, and starred Keira Knightley in one of her earlier roles, and the tongue-in-cheek teen comedy, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. The former, like Blinded By The Light, succeeded at being a comedy that doesn't shy away from issues such as racism and sexism. The latter was a fun comedy that was received well by teenagers. Because of this, Chadha is the best choice to direct a film like Blinded By The Light. She balances the comedy, drama and musical sequences really well, with neither one seeming out of place. I think that she is one of the most underrated directors and I hope that, with Blinded By The Light, she'll receive more recognition.

The strongest aspect of Blinded By The Light is the acting. The cast consists of mostly unknown actors. Prior to watching, I only knew Rob Brydon, Hayley Atwell and Sally Phillips who are given small roles as the father of Javed's friend, his English teacher and the head teacher. The most impressive performance comes from Kalra who, in his debut feature, perfectly captures Javed's journey as he gains confidence and optimism after listening to Springsteen's music. In the beginning, he is a shy individual who feels like his family, especially his father, Malik (Kulvinder Ghir), is holding him back from doing the things he really wants to do. However, Springsteen's music encourages him and he soon finds the confidence to form a relationship with Eliza and achieve his dream of being a writer. The supporting cast are all on great form, too, with Ghir standing out as Malik, who wants his son to follow in his footsteps. Williams shares chemistry with Kalra and gives a memorable portrayal of Eliza. 

I think that Blinded By The Light will appeal to a wide range of viewers. It captures the 80s era really well so those who spent their teenage years in that decade will most likely feel nostalgic. Fans of Springsteen will find it difficult to not sing along to the soundtrack. And even those, like me, who don't belong to either of those categories will still find lots to enjoy, including the lighthearted humour, the romance between Javed and Eliza, and the film's feel-good tone. This is why Blinded By The Light is one of this summer's must-see films.

8/10